Status
The black lion tamarin is the most endangered species within ''Leontopithecus'', and the IUCN has recorded their population to be declining. The main threat against it is the destruction of its habitat through deforestation, though it is also threatened by being hunted in unprotected forests, such as the Fazenda Rio Claro and the Fazenda Tucano .There have been several attempts to bring black lion tamarins into captivity and to salvage what little habitat they have left within the Morro do Diabo State Park, as well as to increase breeding rates. Their population decline in the wild, however, could cause the black lion tamarins to become entirely endemic to the Morro do Diabo.
Behavior
Within ''Leontopithecus'', the black lion tamarin is the largest in size and has the lowest-pitched calls, using longer notes than other species. The black lion tamarin use calls to defend territory, maintain cohesion within the group, attract a mate, and contact individuals who might be lost. Most calls can be recorded in the morning, and can be attributed to the reunion of mated pairs. These mated pairs are coupled-up throughout the mating season.Food
The diet of the black lion tamarin is seasonal and varies with the habitats it moves through. When the tamarin is in the dryland forest, it usually eats a variety of fruits, whereas in a swampy environment it predominantly feeds on the gum of various trees. In addition to seasonal variation, the black lion tamarin exhibits daily and monthly cycles of food preferences.Independent of the environment it occupies, a tamarin spends long periods each day searching for different types of insects and spiders to feed on. On average, 80% of its time foraging is spent searching for insects, such as by foraging the forest floor. The tamarin's foraging locations are very intentional: it spends extended periods of time looking under dry palm leaves, in loose bark, and in tree cavities, with hands that have specialized fingers for prying. The tamarin also positions itself in trees and scans for insects from above, usually four meters above the forest floor.
The black lion tamarin eats the gum and fruit of trees, climbing up to ten meters to reach them and as these are easily found, the tamarin spends 12.8% of its day obtaining them, rather than the 41.2% of the day spent foraging for insects in the high trees.During the first few months after birth, the infant is unable to obtain food on its own. For this reason, the infant rides on the parent's back and receives food from the parents. It drinks milk in the 4 to 5 weeks after birth; after that, the parents and other group-members share food with the infant. Sharing involves both offers from the parents and begging by the infant. Usually, until the age of approximately 15 weeks, the infant will receive the majority of its food from others....hieroglyph snipped... The number of offers from group-members peaks at week 7; after week 15, sharing slowly declines, stopping by week 26.
Predators
The black lion tamarin is the most endangered species within ''Leontopithecus'', and the IUCN has recorded their population to be declining. The main threat against it is the destruction of its habitat through deforestation, though it is also threatened by being hunted in unprotected forests, such as the Fazenda Rio Claro and the Fazenda Tucano .There have been several attempts to bring black lion tamarins into captivity and to salvage what little habitat they have left within the Morro do Diabo State Park, as well as to increase breeding rates. Their population decline in the wild, however, could cause the black lion tamarins to become entirely endemic to the Morro do Diabo.
References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
